Structure & Symmetry
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS ASBMB MEMBERS December 2008 Structure & Symmetry American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology J\\PfliGifk\`ej n`k_*.#'''>=G$kX^^\[FI=Zcfe\j 8 $@C- 9 "@C- : ; >=G$kX^^\[Kil\FI=Zcfe\jXi\kiXej]\Zk\[`ekf?<B)0* Z\ccjXe[k_\kX^^\[gifk\`ejXi\m`jlXc`q\[[li`e^@C$- `e[lZ\[elZc\XikiXejcfZXk`feJK8K*#gXe\c8Xe[9 Xe[`e Ôcfgf[`XXe[jki\jjÔY\i]fidXk`fe8Zk`e#gXe\c:Xe[; % Kil\FI= Fi`>\e\jXclk\j >\efd\n`[\FI=Zcfe\j k_\>=Gg`fe\\ij ]fik_\`iEfY\c ]fikX^^\[gifk\`e\ogi\jj`fe Gi`q\XnXi[ ×:$k\id`eXckX^f]>=G ×J\hl\eZ\m\i`Ô\[Xe[^lXiXek\\[ ×<Xj`cpj_lkkc\[`ekf)'[\jk`eXk`fem\Zkfij ×KiXej]\Zk`fe$i\X[p1('l^gcXjd`[;E8 fi`^\e\%Zfd&fi] ORG-041-GFPTaggedAd_ASBMB_v7.indd 1 10/20/08 12:29:39 PM contents DECEMBER 2008 ON THE COVER: Captivated by the symmetry society news of molecular structure, Sung-Hou Kim has been a 2 From the Editor leader in revealing symmetry 3 President’s Message through his studies in crystallography and 5 Letters to the Editor structural genomics. 30 6 Washington Update 12 Retrospective: Anthony G. San Pietro FASEB releases new Breakthroughs in special interest Bioscience. 6 13 Science’s Role in Foreign Policy 14 ASBMB Round Table: Jim Wells and Mary Woolley 16 Keeping Women in Science 19 Grammar and Writing Tips 2009 meeting 20 The 2009 Fritz Lipmann Lectureship: Douglas C. Rees 21 The 2009 ASBMB Merck Award: John Kuriyan 22 The 2009 FASEB Excellence in Science Award: Susan Lindquist science focus 30 Sung-Hou Kim: Consummate Crystallographer departments 7 News from the Hill 10 Member Spotlight 23 Education and Training A leaky pipeline for women scientists. 26 Minority Affairs 16 28 BioBits resources 34 Career Opportunities podcast summary 36 Calendar Check out this month’s podcast where we talk with contributors to the upcoming JBC Thematic Minireview Series on Alzheimer Disease. For this and other ASBMB AudioPhiles podcasts go to: www.asbmb.org/audio.aspx December 2008 ASBMB Today 1 from the editor A monthly publication of The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology A Year of ASBMB Today Officers BY NICOLE KRESGE Gregory A. Petsko President Heidi E. Hamm Past President Mark A. Lemmon Secretary Merle S. Olson Treasurer s this year winds down and the holiday season sets upon us, I can’t help Council Members Abut reflect upon what a momentous year 2008 has been for ASBMB Dafna Bar-Sagi Alan Hall John D. Scott Today. We’ve run stories on everything from Carolyn Bertozzi’s innovations in Joan A. Steitz Ann M. Stock Kevin Struhl James A. Wells Adrian Whitty glycobiology (February 2008) and a tax primer for postdoctoral fellows (March Ex-Officio Members 2008) to a summary of where Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Ellis Bell Obama stand on issues related to biomedical research (October 2008). This Chair, Education and Professional Development Committee year marked the debut of a new series of articles called ScienCentric, which Laurie S. Kaguni Chair, Meetings Committee featured the Rutgers Center for Lipid Research (May 2008) and Cornell’s John D. Scott Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology (September 2008), and we also Chair, Membership Committee George Hill started up a new column called Sci.Comm (September 2008), which covers the Chair, Minority Affairs Committee intersection between science communication and communication technology. Joan W. Conaway James H. Hurley And finally, we launched an ASBMB Today Round Table series by interviewing Co-chairs, 2009 Program Committee Nobel laureate and political activist Peter Agre (October 2008). Ralph A. Bradshaw Chair, Public Affairs Advisory Committee 2008 also marked a huge step for ASBMB Today in the electronic world. In Toni M. Antalis Chair, Publications Committee January, we unveiled the launch of our new digital magazine—an interactive, Herbert Tabor vivid replica of the print edition which offers our readers an experience very Editor, JBC Ralph A. Bradshaw much like an ink-and-paper magazine delivered electronically. Using this A. L. Burlingame platform, we were able to include online-only features in the magazine, such Co-editors, MCP Edward A. Dennis as a video centerfold featuring movies from presentations at the 2008 annual Joseph L. Witztum meeting (June 2008) and a slide show of Cornell’s Weill Institute for Cell and Co-editors, JLR Molecular Biology (September 2008). We were also able to provide ASBMB ASBMB Today Editorial Advisory Board Alex Toker Today readers with pop-up links to podcasts related to specific articles, such Chair as a chat with MCP Editorial Board Member Robert Chalkley about his trip Greg P. Bertenshaw Craig E. Cameron A. Stephen Dahms Irwin Fridovich to the World HUPO meeting in Amsterdam (November 2008). Jonathan Gitlin Richard W. Hanson And finally, we won a 2008 APEX Award for Publication Excellence in the Elizabeth A. Komives Bettie Sue Masters Luke A. O’Neill Duanqing Pei category of Most Improved Magazines and Journals. Carol C. Shoulders Robert D. Wells In 2009, we intend to continue improving both the digital and print ASBMB Today magazine. We’ll take further advantage of the digital platform, offering more Nicole Kresge Editor [email protected] podcasts, videos, slide shows, and perhaps even Nick Zagorski Science Writer some web chats. We also hope to improve [email protected] the content of our magazine, adding Nancy J. Rodnan Director of Publications [email protected] more articles that cater to our readers’ Barbara Gordon Executive Director interests. As always, we appreciate [email protected] any suggestions or comments from Magazine design & production: Amy Phifer our readers, so please send them For information on advertising contact to [email protected]. Capitol Media Solutions at 800-517-0610 or [email protected] Happy Holidays! www.asbmb.org 2 ASBMB Today December 2008 president’smessage First Impressions, Second Chances BY GREGORY A PETSKO y now most of you have probably heard at least 2) Design Implementation Bsomething about the reforms to the peer review Phase system that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is in In March 2008, Zerhouni estab- the process of implementing. I’ve been interested in this lished the Steering Committee Peer Review Implemen- topic for many years and have written extensively about tation Group to draft implementation plans for each the troubles peer review was going through because of recommendation in the Phase 1 report. The committee the funding crunch. I also proposed a set of changes to convened subgroups led by Berg, Tabak, and Story Lan- the process, and I’m delighted to see that the committees dis, Director of the National Institute of Neurological that recommended the new peer review guidelines seem Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Subgroup membership to have reached many of the same conclusions that I did. consisted of NIH program and review officers, planning But one item in particular that I considered recom- and evaluation experts, and statisticians. Feedback was mending but decided against after long deliberation is a solicited from both NIH internal and external commu- major feature in the new process. It’s worth going over nities. This feedback, together with careful consideration the way these reforms were developed, because it will of the pros and cons of both individual and combined help explain why I think that one of them in particular recommendations, was what led to the final decisions deserves rethinking. on enhancements—that’s the word NIH uses; apparently The assessment of peer review has been going on they’re nervous about calling them reforms—to the peer for over a year now. In June 2007, Elias Zerhouni, then review system. NIH Director, initiated the effort to formally review the On June 6, 2008, Zerhouni announced the Peer NIH peer review system. External and internal work- Review Enhancements and Implementation Plan (see ing groups, with input from both internal and external the press release at tinyurl.com/6ddu2t), and Tabak communities, considered all aspects of the reviewing presented the Implementation Plan to the Advisory process. The year-long effort, which resulted in selected Committee to the Director (ACD). recommendations, included the following phases. 3) Implementation Phase 1) Diagnostic Phase In July 2008, Zerhouni established a Peer Review Over- The diagnostic phase involved an in-depth evaluation sight Committee (PROC)—I know, I know, we ought to of the current NIH peer review system. In June 2007, declare this an acronym-free column, but believe me, if Zerhouni established two working groups: Externally, you deal with Washington, this is the way you have to the Advisory Committee to the Director Working write to initiate implementation. The PROC, chaired by Group (ACD WG), co-chaired by Keith Yamamoto of NIH Deputy Director Raynard Kington, who has just the University of California, San Francisco, and Law- been appointed acting director following the resigna- rence Tabak, Director of the NIH National Institute tion of Zerhouni, established subgroups consisting of of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR); and NIH program, review, grants management, and evalu- Internally, the Steering Committee Working Group (SC ation staff to assist with the implementation effort. On WG), co-chaired by Tabak and Jeremy Berg, Director of Sept. 12, 2008, the PROC and subgroup chairs presented the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences to Zerhouni the first of the preliminary implementa- (NIGMS). The working groups solicited formal input tion plans for the 2009 through 2010 calendar years. from key stakeholders before releasing the Final Draft Although specific details of the Implementation Plans Report on Feb. 29, 2008, which documented the out- continue to be worked through, the first of the prelimi- come of the diagnostic phase and described a prelimi- nary Implementation Plans for the 2009-2010 calendar nary set of recommendations.